Ohio eliminates highway travel center jobs

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The state is eliminating 34 jobs staffing 11 information centers along Ohio's interstate highways and one on at the Statehouse in Columbus.

Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Faulkner says the jobs are going because travelers can now access the same information on their smartphones and other web devices.

But tourism professionals are lamenting the move. They say the face-to-face interaction drives more tourism for the state. The travel centers, occupying small rooms at highway rest stops, have operated for decades.

The Plain Dealer reports that cutting the jobs will save $2.1 million for roads and bridges.

The travel-center workers are being offered open jobs elsewhere in the department.

The transportation department has cut 500 jobs since Gov. John Kasich took office.